What’s in my bag?

What’s in my bag?

So today is my birthday (happy birthday to me) therefore today’s post is a little less Rebecca Wilkie Weddings and a little more Rebecca Wilkie, birthday princess. So, what’s in my bag?

Having a full time job and three kids doesn’t leave me very much time for relaxing and reading books, Harlan Coben being my favourite author, or reading magazines and I really am struggling to Keep up with the Kardashians at the moment, seriously what is going on with Kourtney and Scott?! But I do love reading blogs, particularly personal blogs and blogs about people’s lives. Last year it seemed like everyone was doing the ‘What’s in my bag’ posts and I would read them and think, a) what a gorgeous bag, it must have cost more than my mortgage and b) why isn’t your bag crammed with rubbish like mine? I noticed that there are lots of 2016 updates and thought to myself, I wonder what’s in my bag? To be honest, I’m not entirely sure so I thought I would take a look.

Bags and shoes are totally my weakness and my husband had his joiner friend make me a shelving unit to keep them in a few years ago which I love. I don’t even want to count how many bags I own but I only tend to use a few, the rest, to be honest I don’t even know why I have. They are those ‘I need this’ buys that I never use.

I actually have two bags on the go at once, one for work and one for my days off. My work bag I bought last year after my beloved Fiorelli fell apart after years of ramming my laptop into it. I did shed a little tear, but I plumped for LK Bennett’s Martina Saffiano Tote which I love. It has been replaced this season with the Catrina Black Saffiano Leather Tote which is still cute, but I love mine more.

What’s in my bag for work?

Whats in my bag

So what’s in my bag that I use for work? The first thing that always goes into my bag is my phone. I absolutely cannot be without my phone. It’s my lifeline. I have all of my work emails and personal emails on it, I share a calendar with my husband and teenage daughter (although I am the only one who checks it before making plans) and I can FaceTime my kids when I am working away.

The next thing I always put into my work bag is my Coach Madison Signature Sateen Wristlet Purse. I have it in both black and brown and I love it. When I’m working away I don’t really want to carry such a large bag to the restaurant when I eat so this fits my phone, debit card, cash and a lipstick. What more do you need for breakfast?

My husband bought me my Vivienne Westwood Derby purse for my birthday a few years ago and my only regret is not buying the matching bag. I absolutely love love love it and when it needs replacing I will totally just buy the same again. It is stuffed full of receipts and reward cards from stores I don’t shop in, but no money. The ‘paper money’ is siphoned off by the teenager whilst the ‘shiny money’ is slipped into charity boxes and money boxes by the younger two.

My iPad is another must and another birthday present, I am clearly very lucky. Thanks to wifi and the cloud I can work from anywhere and I love the freedom that gives, particularly when the kids are on holiday from school or my husband and I whizz off somewhere for the weekend.

I have had my Malden Organiser by Filofax for years and love it but I am totally looking to replace it with the Saffiano special edition in gold, it’s gold and shiny people, what’s not to love?

Paperchase notepads. Despite my Organiser being crammed full of paper I have to have more. I love stationary, as a child I remember a big toy store opening in the city where I lived, but I preferred Staples. I was in heaven and things haven’t changed. I currently carry around two pads of different sizes, both gold, or course, and both full of lists, notes, and lots of different wedding suppliers that I love. There are also a million pens, some work and some don’t but I’m not one for you average Bic. It needs to either glitter, a la my Swarovski pen or write in coloured ink.

I have keys for everything. I don’t even know what some of them unlock but I can’t get rid because what if… My keys are on a really old and battered Tiffany key ring from the days of fewer children and more money to spend on things I didn’t need.

I don’t wear lipstick for work because I drink a lot of water to keep hydrated and just don’t have time to replenish. I don’t like a shiny face though so I do carry round with me my Chanel Double Perfection Lumiere and I have mentioned before I’m totally obsessed with Jo Malone’s Vitamin E Lip Conditioner which I’m never without.

Other staples that I can’t be without when I’m at work are my hand lotion from Molton and Brown. I have a little sample size that I can just throw in the bottom of my bag, breath mints always from Starbucks, sun glasses and gloves because you never know that the weather might do.

For my work bag, that pretty much it. Very organised and in order a bit like my work life, my other bag however it a completely different story. As well as my phone, wallet and keys what on earth is in here?! It’s like Mary Poppins’s bag, I could pull anything out and totally not be surprised.

What’s in my bag on my days off?

Whats in my bag – days off

So what’s in my bag on my days off? Whichever bag I use when I’m off work and out with the kids, it’s always big from either Oasis or Warehouse. I like something with a big strap that I can throw over my shoulder so I have free hands but something with compartments and pockets otherwise I end up losing my keys in the sea of rubbish.

The first thing I noticed when emptying my bag to write this post is that I carry three packets of tissues and what appears to be hundreds of receipts and, as with every handbag in the country I imagine, what appears to be a hundred expired boots vouchers. I also have, for some totally unknown reason children’s socks, a jumper and half a packet of birthday candles as well as a photobooth photo strip of me and my besties from over a year ago that I found in the pocket. I wondered where it had gotten to.

Because I have kids we spend time at random indoor play centres in the winter so I also have Milton wipes to wipe down tables, Carex hand gel and wet wipes, I don’t go anywhere without them. I also have a McDonalds toy which I’m sure is another handbag staple. I often feel it burning a hole whilst listening to the healthy food police. Really, your child only eats free range, organic, gluten free food grown by Buddhist monks? My kids only eat pizza and waffles and the vegetables I manage to hide in the meals I throw together because I live in the real world.

A hair brush, which if you saw my kids you would think I never used on them but the four year old likes her hair messy and always rebrushes it after I’m done. I have her My Little Pony hair slides and what appears to be every hair grip or bobby pin I have ever owned, EVER!

For some reason I have two pairs of ear buds for my iPhone. It appears that I can’t get enough PJ & Duncan some amazing new music that all the cool people listen too ‘cause I’m totally down with the kids!

I also found the Palace Pets comb and Doc McStuffin’s Stethoscope, well you never know when they may come in handy!

When I look at what’s in my bag on the days I’m not working, they don’t seem to be bags owned by the same person! A bit of a dumping ground and things are easily swallowed up in the sea of mess. Time for a clear out I think!